Anthony Beauvillier

With the trade deadline now just a few days away, we continue our closer look at the situation for each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the New York Islanders.

The New York Islanders know that time is running out for them. The team is doing everything it can to re-sign their franchise player John Tavares, but as the offseason seems to be getting closer and closer, the Islanders are also find themselves battling for one of the final playoff spots and are currently on the outside looking in. With a struggling defense and a goaltending tandem that leave a lot to be desired, the Islanders must feel a sense of urgency to make some changes in hopes they can fix their team enough to vault them into the playoffs. While making the playoffs is no guarantee they can extend Tavares, missing the playoffs certainly won’t help either.

Draft Picks

*If the Flames miss the playoffs in 2018, the Islanders receive a 2019 second-round pick. If the Flames make the 2018 playoffs, then the Islanders get a 2020 second-round pick.

Trade Chips

While defense is a big weakness on this team, the biggest trade chip this team has are the picks they received from trading defenseman Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames in the offseason. The team has Calgary’s first and second-round picks and could dangle those assets along with their own picks and some of the Islanders young talent such as Joshua Ho-Sang or Anthony Beauvillier. The team could also consider moving some of their pending unrestricted free agents such as Thomas Hickey or Dennis Seidenberg, but would probably need a defenseman back before they weaken their defense even further. Jaroslav Halak’s expiring contract could be a piece in upgrading in goal.

Team Needs

1) Defense

Desperate for defense, the team already unloaded a third-round pick to acquire defenseman Brandon Davidson, but the team has allowed the most goals in the NHL this season as they have allowed 223 goals this season. Injuries to defenseman like Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan haven’t helped, but the team needs to solidify its defense if they want to make a playoff run. Don’t be surprised if the team tries to grab a quality defenseman to stabilize their blueline core.

2) Goaltending

While you can’t blame the goaltenders for everything as the defense doesn’t help out Halak or backup Thomas Greiss, the Islanders are desperately in need of a shakeup in the pipes. With Halak’s contract about to expire, could the team try to upgrade and bring in a Robin Lehner or an Aaron Dell in hopes that one of them might decrease the amount of goals that are getting past them?

While Beauvillier and Aho both have had stints with the Islanders previously, the most interesting name may be Dal Colle. Selected fifth overall in the 2014 draft, Dal Colle has yet to make it to the NHL during his professional career. Instead, he’s now played 114 games at the AHL level, scoring 60 points in the process.

Though there is no guarantee he gets into a game this time around, seeing him up with the NHL squad will be a welcome sight for many New York fans who have been waiting for his debut. Dal Colle is one of just two players from the first round of the 2014 draft yet to make an NHL appearance, and is well behind his contemporaries at the top of the draft.

The emergency recalls likely mean that Andrew Ladd and Josh Bailey, both of whom sat out recently with injuries, will not return when the Islanders take on the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Neither has been placed on injured reserve.

As is typically the case, Saturday will be a busy day around the league with nine games on tap so there is bound to be a fair bit of roster shuffling. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

St. Louis announced that they have recalled defenseman Jake Walman from Chicago of the AHL. To make room for him on the roster, they have transferred blueliner Vince Dunn (illness) to injured reserve. Walman, one of the better prospects for the Blues, is in his first full professional campaign and has 13 points (2-11-13) in 34 games at the minor league level this season.

The Senators revealed via Twitter that they have called up center Colin White from AHL Belleville. This will be his first stint with the team this season; although he was expected to contend for a roster spot in training camp, he broke his wrist early on which set things back. His first season at the minor league level has been rather bumpy as he has 13 points (5-8-13) in 27 games to go along with a team-worst -15 rating. White is expected to take the place of Nate Thompson, who was injured on Friday night against San Jose.

The Capitals have brought back defenseman Madison Bowey and winger Jakub Vrana from Hershey (AHL), via the AHL’s transactions page. Neither move comes as a surprise as they were just sent down yesterday in an effort to free up a little bit more cap space. For perspective, it’s the fourth time they’ve been sent back and forth since December 17th.

The Islanders annouced (Twitter link) that they have recalled winger Anthony Beauvillier from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis. The move comes on the heels of New York losing both Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd to injury last night. The 2o-year-old has spent the majority of the season with the Isles, picking up four goals and three assists in 31 games. He has a pair of goals in two minor league contests.

The San Jose Sharks activated winger Barclay Goodrow from injured reserve late last night and assigned winger Marcus Sorensen to the San Jose Barracuda, according to Elite Prospects. Goodrow has been in and out of the lineup with a lower-body injury for a couple of months now. He has two goals and two assists in 10 games this year. The 25-year-old Sorensen had three goals in 13 games for the Sharks this season. He has five goals and nine assists in 17 games for the Barracuda.

The 2018 portion of the season is underway, and with it teams can try to turn the page on whatever problems they faced last year. In places like Edmonton and Ottawa, perhaps the new year will bring success. As always, we’ll keep an eye on the minor transactions around the league and report them right here.

The Florida Panthers have recalledMaxim Mamin from the minor leagues, giving the 22-year old forward a promotion for his solid play in the AHL this year. Mamin has 15 points in 23 games as a rookie for Springfield, after coming over from the KHL this season.

Peter Cehlarikhas been sent to the AHL now that he’s healthy and ready to play again, as the Boston Bruins don’t want to mix things up. The team is on a long hot streak and seem to have found a good recipe up front. Cehlarik, who has played in just five games for the Bruins this season, will head back to the minor leagues where he’s been extremely effective since coming over from Sweden.

The Colorado Avalanche have called upA.J. Greerfrom the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. With Sven Andrighettoday-to-day with a minor injury, Greer provides another option if he is unable to go. Greer, the Avs’ 2015 second-rounder, has just one point in six games with Colorado in 2017-18, but has ten in sixteen with San Antonio, on pace to set a new career-high in points in his second pro season. It may only be a matter of time before the power forward is a regular in Denver, with this promotion his newest opportunity to make his case.

Despite the success of the New York Islanders since head coach Doug Weight took over in the middle of the season last year, not to mention the team’s success lately as the team has found itself in third place in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-7-2 record. However, don’t expect any hasty decisions by star forward John Tavares, according to Elliotte Friedman, via Sportsnet.

Tavares, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, is having another big season for the Islanders, but due to questions regarding where the Islanders will play in the future as well as other issues as well, Tavares has chosen not to agree to an extension and prefers to wait before making any final decisions. It looks like this one may wait until the offseason as the Islanders are not expected to trade their star forward and are expected to gamble on being able to retain Tavares.

“Obviously, this is John Tavares’s decision, but I think the Islanders are very content to let this play out,” Elliotte Friedman said on Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “I don’t necessarily think the trade deadline is a deadline for the Islanders here. If they have to keep going past it, I think they’re perfectly prepared to do it.”

As the team is faring well and they have quite a few young and improving players such as Mathew Barzal and Joshua Ho-Sang, many feel the Islanders are going to instead make a concerted effort at a playoff run to show Tavares what potential the franchise has in order to convince him to re-sign.

The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that the team does need to make a big trade to show Tavares they are all in. However, he points out that trading for Buffalo Sabres’ Evander Kane to be that great linemate Tavares has never had doesn’t make any sense. Tavares’ line along with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey are already one of the top lines in the league and even the Jordan Eberle, Barzal pairing is paying dividends as well. What the team needs, according to Brooks, is a top-flight defenseman such as Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He suggests the team put a package together of Ho-Sang or Anthony Beauvillier, Brock Nelson, defenseman Ryan Pulock or Scott Mayfield and one of their 2018 first-round picks (they have two) to pick up the top-flight defenseman, who isn’t likely to re-sign with Arizona in two years.

Sportsnet’s Tim Panaccio writes that New York Islanders head coach Doug Weight feels that the trade to acquire Eberle has been a big success as the forward has really started to pick up his game recently. He has eight goals over the past 12 games and Weight noted that confidence was the key reason why he was struggling with the Edmonton Oilers. While the initial intention was to acquire Eberle to be a key linemate to Tavares, it didn’t take Weight long to see a better connection between Eberle and Barzal and to utilize them together on a solid second line. That has allowed the Islanders to become the third-best goal scoring team in the league, averaging 3.61 goals per game.

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will look at what teams are thankful for as the season nears the quarter point of completion. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We take a look at what’s gone well in the first month and what could improve as the season rolls on. Yesterday, we examined the Colorado Avalanche.

What are the New York Islanders most thankful for?

A solid start to the 2017-18 season.

The Islanders, who are doing everything they can to prevent star John Tavares from leaving their team when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, have gotten off to a solid start and look poised to make the playoffs. The team is 12-7-2 coming into Friday and are currently third in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference. If they can continue their success, the team should have a solid chance to make the playoffs, something they failed to do last year when they were one of the worst teams in the league at this point a year ago. A second-straight failed playoff appearance wouldn’t look good to a player who should have numerous playoff teams pounding on his door in June.

Who are the New York Islanders most thankful for?

Their offense. The Islanders rank second in the league in goals scored as the team has managed to give a lot of help to Tavares. Linemates Josh Bailey and Anders Lee have thrived around Tavares to form one of the top lines in the NHL. Bailey has five goals and 21 assists so far this year, while Lee has 11 goals and 10 assists. Oh, Tavares is doing just fine as he’s second in the NHL behind Nikita Kucherov with 15 goals. Throw in others like Jordan Eberle (seven goals), Brock Nelson (six goals), and rookie Mathew Barzal (five goals) and offense isn’t really a problem. Even defenseman Nick Leddy is getting into the action. After starting with just two assists in the first nine games, he’s put up five goals and 10 assists in his last 12 games to put himself among the top scoring defensemen in the league.

What would the Islanders be most thankful for?

A long-term commitment from Tavares.

The entire franchise seems to be focused on locking up Tavares who has said he wants to wait before committing long-term to the franchise. While many believe Tavares is waiting to make sure the Islanders find a legitimate home at the Belmont Parks site, there is plenty of confusion and worry about what might happen to the franchise if the team fails to re-sign their star player. To make matters worse, there is no word when a decision might be final on whether the Islanders will find a new home. However, if the team can get that commitment from the veteran, perhaps the team can move forward and focus on other key areas in the future.

What should be on the Islanders Holiday Wish List?

More success from their youth. One thing the team always seems to have a lot of is young talent. While Barzal has five goals, he still has stretches of inconsistency and the team would like to see him develop more. Other players such as Joshua Ho-Sang has been up and down between New York and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to find more consistency with his entire game. Young defenseman Ryan Pulock, who many felt might be able to supplant Travis Hamonic after he was traded, has struggled to get into games (11 games played, 10 healthy scratches) due to his struggles on defense. Anthony Beauvillier has just two goals in 17 games so far this season. The team must continue to develop their youth if they want long-term success.

The New Jersey Devils got back into the win column Saturday after failing to win their previous four games. Despite that fact, New Jersey remains in first place with a 10-4-2 record in a tough Metropolitan Division. Yet, the team’s 2-1 victory Saturday against the Florida Panthers was a defensive effort in which many players praised the play of unheralded defenseman Steven Santini, according to The Record’s Andrew Gross.

The physical 22-year-old defenseman only played in 38 games a year ago, but is a mainstay on the team’s defense this year. The former second-round pick from 2013, showed off his physicality against Florida with big hits, most notably a hit in which he dumped the Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov into his team’s own bench in the second period. Santini got plenty of ice time with 23:42, was credited with four hits and was smart enough to avoid a penalty when challenged by Panthers’ enforcer Micheal Haley in the third period.

New York Islanders Joshua Ho-Sang made the most of his emergency recall Saturday when he scored a goal against the St. Louis Blues last night, according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. Ho-Sang, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, had played six games with the Islanders to start the season, but was sent down to work on improving his in-game mentality — knowing when to drive to the net and when to dump the puck. Ho-Sang had put up two goals and four assists in six games during that span with the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but with Anthony Beauvillier day-to-day, Ho-Sang got his chance to redeem himself. He can stay up on an emergency basis for 30 days or 10 games, but the team could always officially recall him as well.

Jonathan Bombulie of The Trib Live writes that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Hunwick, who has already missed 12 games due to a concussion diagnosed on Oct. 17, has hit a plateau in his recovery and will be held off the ice for a few more days. “He’s been having a tough time getting over that last hurdle, and so they want to take a little bit of a different approach to try to get him over that last hump,” coach Mike Sullivan said.

NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir writes that Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen will travel on the team’s upcoming road trip to Nashville and Colorado, according to head coach Barry Trotz. Niskanen, who has been on LTIR since Oct. 14 due to an upper-body injury, will not suit up tonight against the Edmonton Oilers, but could be ready to suit up for one or both of the away games this week. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan tweets that Niskanen has been cleared for contact, but is not “full go” and may or may not be ready for games this week. A key veteran defender, the team’s defense would get a big boost upon his return.

New York Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey went straight to the dentist after Saturday’s victory over the Edmonton Oilers, according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay. The 24-year-old wing took a Zack Kassian skate to the mouth in the second period. Two of Vesey’s teeth had to be removed from his lip. Despite the injury, Vesey returned for a shift in the third period and wore a protective plastic cage attached to the lower part of his helmet. He is day-to-day.

The Blue Jackets have held extension talks with pending UFA blueliner Jack Johnson, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported during an interview with 630 CHED in Edmonton (audio link). He was quick to add that his sense is that the two sides aren’t particularly close to a deal but that there is interest in keeping the 30-year-old in the fold. Johnson is making $5MM in salary this season with a cap hit slightly over $4.35MM and with his production tapering off a bit in recent years, a new contract for him should come in somewhat close to his current deal. It’s known that Columbus is looking to add another impact forward and perhaps locking up Johnson may give them the freedom to deal another defender for that desired help up front at some point.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

Penguins winger Bryan Rust is setting himself up for a nice payday in the offseason. In a reader chat, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that the 25-year-old who currently has eight points in as many games this season could find himself in line for a contract similar to the one Conor Sheary received (three years, $9MM) if not more, depending on how long he can hold this level of production. The Penguins have just shy of $61MM committed to 14 players for next season and will likely want to try to bring back pending UFA Patric Hornqvist as well so even though the team has a decent amount of wiggle room this year, that’s not likely to be the case in 2018-19.

Although Islanders winger Anthony Beauvillier has been a healthy scratch for three straight games and has waiver exemption, the team isn’t planning on sending him down to AHL Bridgeport at this time, head coach Doug Weighttold Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post. The 20-year-old had a good rookie season after surprising many by making the team out of training camp but has just one goal in four games in the early going this year. He’s expected to get another chance in the lineup today against San Jose.

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

The team had to be pleased with the first-year production from Beauvillier after he put up nine goals and 15 assists in 66 games. Granted, it could have been better, but for the former 2015 first-round pick who wasn’t even expected to make the team out of training camp last year, this was a solid start. He didn’t get off to much of a start early in the season, but by the end of the year, he put together a solid string of games along with linemates Ho-Sang and Lee. He will likely find himself on the team’s third line along with Ho-Sang to start the year.

Pulock, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, was one of the main reasons behind the offseason trade of Travis Hamonic. The talented defenseman was traded away for a first and two second-round picks with the idea of implementing Pulock into the team’s plans. Rumors are they intend to put Pulock onto the team’s power play and showcase his hard slapshot. He only played one game for New York last year and broke his foot after playing just 3:57 of ice time, but he showed off his skill with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, putting up 15 goals and 46 points in just 55 games.

Ho-Sang, the team’s first-round pick in 2014, only played 21 games last year for the Islanders, putting up four goals and six assists in that span. A full 82-game season should be able to demonstrate his long-term value to the franchise. Barzal still must make the team out of training camp, but is considered to be one of the top prospects in the game and should have every opportunity to win one of the center jobs, which is not a position of depth on the team. Barzal did see two games for the Islanders last year, but played most of the year for his junior team.

Obviously, the team’s future seems to hinge on where Tavares’ contract situation ends up. The team has high hopes they can re-sign their star forward, who has scored 235 goals for the franchise over eight season and is just about to turn 27 years old. The team that has watched several of their top players walk away in past years need to lock him up or, at the very least, trade him off for some talent in return. Losing Tavares would likely set the team back significantly and could play a role on whether some of the other pending free agents will come back next year.

The team will be forced to decide what they want to do with some of their regulars, including Bailey, de Haan and Hickey. Bailey, a first-round pick from 2008, has been around for nine years and while he consistently averages between 10 and 15 goals, he hit a personal high in assists last season, picking up 43 to put together a big season while playing with Tavares on the first line. With the addition of Eberle who is expected to play with Tavares, the team will likely demote Bailey to the second or even possibly the third line, which could suggest the team may not mind if he moves on in one year.

De Haan has proven to be a solid top-four presence on the blueline, but after signing a one-year deal this offseason, setting up unrestricted free agency next year, the team may decide to move on from him at some point, while Hickey hasn’t worked his way into the team’s top four. So it may be that many of the pending free agents will be allowed to leave to free up cap space, including Kulemin, Chimera and Seidenberg, along with some of the others above. That could free up a lot of cap room.

The team also will likely allow Halak to walk unless the veteran goaltender can produce a bounce-back season. After a couple of respectable seasons for New York, the 32-year-old’s production took a hit as he posted a 2.80 GAA in 27 games and then was demoted to finish the season in the AHL. He is back, but no one is quite sure what to expect for the veteran.

Perhaps the most important free agent (besides Tavares) will end up being from restricted free agent Brock Nelson, who should be asking for a big raise after three 20-goal seasons. Their 2010 first-round pick had 20 goals and 25 assists for the team last year, a career-high.

Two Years Remaining

Two of their core players will be up in two years. Both expected to be current linemates to Tavares on the team’s first line this year, both could be major free agents in two years. Depending on their continued success and what state the franchise is in, the Islanders will have to make some key decisions on them. Eberle will be 29, but was quite consistent with Edmonton, putting up four straight 20-goal seasons, while Lee, who will also be 29 in two years, broke out with a 34-goal performance last year. Both will likely command big money.

Three Years Remaining

Starting a three-year, $10MM deal this season, the team hopes to see Greiss take control of the net as the full-time starter this year. However, the 31-year-old goaltender must continue to put up good numbers. His performance last year, a 2.69 GAA and a .913 save percentage was just average. The hope is he can show everyone he can and should be a starter in this league.

The team does have a number of long-term contracts and the team has put a lot of responsibility on those players, especially Boychuk who has been the leader of their defense for the last few years. At 34 years old, Boychuk has been a solid player alongside partner Leddy. Both are locked up for five more years. Boychuk’s biggest problem is injuries as he only played in 66 contests last season and has never played a full season in his career. Leddy has been more of an offensive sparkplug for the team and played even better once he was reunited with Boychuk. His 11 goals and 35 assists were career highs last year and at age 26, his contract looks like a good value.

The team signed Ladd to a long-term extension a year ago. The 31-year-old wing is a model of consistency, putting up at least 20 goals in six of the last seven years. Currently slated to take over duties on the second line, the team has high hopes he can continue those numbers.

The two contracts that don’t make as much sense are the long-term deals given to Clutterbuck and Cizikas, both back-six players, yet combined, the Islanders are giving them a little under $7MM combined for the next four (or five for Clutterbuck) years.

Buyouts

G Rick DiPietro (compliance buyout, so no cap hit; $1.5MM payments to be made until 2028-29.)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: LeeWorst Value: Clutterbuck

Looking Ahead

The entire future of this franchise lands on the backs of management to convince Tavares to ink a long-term deal with the franchise. While finding a home for themselves is also a priority, the franchise should be stabilized if the 26-year-old veteran agrees to return next year. They have acquired the necessary scoring to surround him with top talent and have a young group of top forwards who can take that next step and provide that much needed depth. Without Tavares, the Islanders may have to settle for rebuilding once again.

If the Nashville Predators are ever to win a Stanley Cup, this seems the most likely year. Their window is far from closing, to be sure. But for a team that doesn’t often spend to the cap, their long-term finances may become complicated. They have a multitude of players performing well above their contract levels, are benefiting from Entry-Level Contracts (Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala), and the bulk of their team is in their late twenties. Nashville isn’t the most dynamic offensive force, but have gotten enough scoring this outing to support the absurdly good top-four defense and brilliant goaltending from Pekka Rinne (.951 SV%).

That said, if they fail to win the glorious prize at the end of four series, will their draft plummet be seen as worth the hassle? They finished with the West’s lowest seeding in Wild Card 2, and the worst overall record in the playoffs at 94 points, edging out the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. Their draft plummet is quite the precarious one, similar to the 8th seeded 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings in the entry draft. Of course, that team went 16-4 in the postsesason to win the Stanley Cup, and certainly didn’t mind sacrificing a higher first-round pick to win their franchise’s first title.

But what if they hadn’t won? By advancing to the post-season’s final four, Los Angeles automatically shifted from drafting 16th to 30th. If the Predators were to lose in the Conference Finals, it would mean a drop from 17th to 28th. A Finals loss would mean 30th. Obviously, fans aren’t concerned with these sorts of trivialities when rooting on their team to glory, nor necessarily should they be. However, for management, this is quite the potential concern. Finding failure late in the playoffs and then also suffering the sting of a draft position dive is tough to stomach. After all, deals can sometimes hinge on whether a first or second round pick is early, mid, or late round.

For reference, let us look at the last 10 years draft history with regard to the 17th and 28th selections to see the potential disparity:

The jury is still completely out on last year’s draft class, but as you can see, the two prior years have worked out quite well for the New York Islanders at the 28th spot. Beauvillier and Ho-Sang have both developed into studs quite quickly, while Connor and Sanheim still have a lot to prove. As we look at the last decade of entry drafts, there seems to be no real discernible advantage in terms of NHL projection. So although 11 spots seems like an awful long way to drop, Nashville (and any other future conference finalists) can rest easy that their relative success will still hinge upon being able to scout and develop talent properly.